Saturday, January 05, 2008 New round of evacuations feared as Christmas truce ends By Grace L. Plata
EVACUEES of Surigao del Sur who returned home last Christmas are all set to evacuate once more should another bout of gunbattles break out in their hinterland villages as the ceasefire set by the government ends January 6.
"For sure the Manobos are anxious and uncertain of their condition though they have celebrated Christmas and New Year's Day in their villages. Ang nakamaayo lang kay empowered na ang community. Aware na sila sa ilang mga rights especially sa pag defend sa ilang ancestral domain. Kahibalo na sila mubarog," Kabiba Alliance for Children's Concerns in Mindanao Executive Secretary Honey May Suazo said in an interview Friday.
Kabiba and its allied groups have been closely involved in aiding the evacuees through distributing relief goods and providing psychosocial and medical services.
The group went on a solidarity mission to the area during the first week of December and returned with calls urging the government to cease military operations there and to oppose the opening of the coal-rich area for mining.
This due to the complaints made by the evacuees, mostly indigenous people (Manobos), who do not want their ancestral lands opened for mining operations.
Information gathered from Kabiba through the Diocese of Tandag say that even if the majority of the 391 families have returned to their homes in the municipalities of Liangga, Tago, San Agustin and San Miguel for the holidays, 24 families from the municipalities of Lagangan are still present. Caras-an and Tago have not yet been able to do so.
"Naay nagpabilin (There were those who remained) under the care of the Diocese of Tandag since December 28 until present even though nag-declare na ug Somo katung December 16. Hadlok gihapon sila magbalik ang mga lumad (The lumads are still scared) because they were threatened by the military," Suazo said.
Suazo added that according to the lumads, the military operation in the area is not only a part of the government's campaign against insurgency but a "clearing" operation to make way for the entrance of large mining companies aiming to mine coal along the Tago-Tandag-Lianga quadrant in Andap Valley, which is part of the Manobos' ancestral domain.
